The School Trip
by Panda Playground
Summary: The once so popular Caroline now finds herself being completely alone after the break up with Damon. Against her will she attends the school's annual trip. But as bad she thinks it would be, she could not be prepared to what is coming at her.
1. Chapter 1

"Mystic Falls' seniors are going on their annual trip! This year they will be headed to...

Greensboro, South Carolina!

All seniors are to be assembled in the cafeteria Monday morning at 5:30 am.

Important to take..."

Caroline fumbles up the small paper, and sighs. " Great , another school trip. How lovely!"

Caroline has been having a rough time since she broke up with Damon. Actually, since Damon broke up with her. She didn't see that coming. She thought everything was going great. Sure, they had their flaws, but didn't every couple experience that? She really thought he was the one , like every 17 year old thinks when in love. Which made it all even worse. He had taken her out to dinner for her birthday, it was super-romantic, and she thought he had an amazing gift to give her. But instead, he dropped the bomb on her. " Caroline, I think we need to break up. I'm just not into you anymore." and that was it. He just left, leaving her behind, still having to pay the check.

She makes her way through the staring crowd, as usual, to her next class : math. Although she is used to the starring by now, it seemed different this time, and she could now see why.

Right before her nose, Damon and Elena were making out. Tears were waiting to fall down, but she won't let them. She has to stay strong. When they finally stopped and saw her standing there, a grin showed up on Elena's face. That...That...That...Urgh.

Finally, the bell rang. School never seems to end anymore. She made it out of there as quick as she could. Once outside, past the mass of students, she couldn't get home fast enough.

Her mother was already waiting for her, which was weird. Her mom was never home before she was. "Mom, why are you home already?What happened?" Caroline asked. Her mother turned around, and Caroline could see the worries on her mother's face. " Mom, seriously, what happened?" Caroline was getting worried now too.

"We found another body near the cemetery..."

"Another one? That's already the 7th one!"

"Don't worry Car, we will find this guy. Or girl... Anyways, you are going on yous schooltrip, so you'll be safe."

Great, now there was no way out of this trip, she had to go. How wonderful!

Next Monday, she caught herself staring at Damon and Elena as she waited in line to get on the bus. She took the strategic place in the back, from where she could overlook the entire bus, including Damon and Elena. Since it was still early in the morning, Elena had placed her head on Damon's shoulder, which sent a sharp pain through Caroline's heart. Once the principle explained the guidelines and general information, the trip could start. The bus started driving, and all Caroline could think was how much she hated this trip and this school. Every once in a while she could hear someone saying her name somewhere in the bus, followed by laughter. Or, the people who were sitting very close to her started to whisper, after which they secretly watched her, thinking she didn't notice.

She forced herself to put her iPod in and look out the window. Though, there wasn't much to see : landscapes and meadows filled with horses and cows, nothing else, not even a human being. Maybe she could write a sign, saying _Help Me !_, on a paper and hold it against the window. Maybe someone would somehow notice it, and send the cops. The bus would be pulled over, and a very, very handsome looking police officer would save her out of this horrible place. But she knew that was only going to happen in her fantasy, life didn't like her enough for that to happen.

After an hour, when the sun started to rise, Caroline fell asleep.

When she woke up , she felt a huge pain going through her body. She opened her eyes to see that there was no one left on the bus. She sat up straight, and felt something liquid running down her face. She touched her head, and found that her hands were covered in blood. She touched her head again to find a hole there as she looked at the shattered glass. There was smoke everywhere, making it hard for her to breathe. She got up, but didn't make it far. She fell down the aisle. She couldn't feel her legs, couldn't move them. A panic got hold of Caroline. She pulled her legs to her body, and started to hyperventilate. Why did they leave her? Wasn't she important enough? Did they not notice her? Not even Damon?

There was a short ticking noise, and Caroline saw someone crawling in from the broken window. _Someone did come back for me! _By now, she didn't even have the strength to talk. She watched this person coming closing, hoping it would be Damon. But it wasn't. It was someone she had never seen before.

" Don't worry, everything will be fine. Trust me. My name is Elijah. Nice to meet you." He had a very soft voice, speaking as if nobody my hear him. His eyes were... so … special...

"_Everything will be fine. Trust you. No worries."_ she repeated him in her thoughts.

His eyes suddenly changed colors though, and his teeth? What was happening to them? Caroline wasn't granted much time to think about this. She felt a huge pain as Elijah tore her veins and drank her blood. In less than a minute, he was gone again, leaving her behind.

_Was that a vampire? It can't be. Vampires don't exist! But his eyes...and his teeth? He drank my blood... How did he find me? We're in the middle of nowhere? _She touched her head again, feeling the blood. _ Of course..._

A few miles from where the accident happened, the other seniors gathered. The could still see the bus, as there are only meadows surrounding them, although it resembled a toy car from this distance. The principal, who always went along on school trips, started counting. Everybody sat down, tired, thinking about how lucky they had been, but also worrying about getting home. Some girls were crying, others hyperventilating. But most of all, there was staring, and absolute silence, apart from the counting from the principal.

"Oh no. I must have made a mistake. Everybody, stand still ! I have to recount!" There was a slight panic in his voice.

"We are missing one person! Who is not here ?!" Chocked as everybody was, no one seemed to move or look around. Had they really forgotten someone on the bus?

"Caroline!" shouted someone in the back. Damon's eyes widened, and felt paniced.

"We have to go get her!" He called out. Nobody moved. " We can't just leave her there !"

Still no movement, just some staring faces. Damon started to run to the bus, but was stopped by Elena and the principal.

"Damon, it's too late. There is nothing we can do, it's too dangerous to go back there." The prinipal has bowed his head and was now saying a prayer. Elena just looked at him, suspiciously. Or was she mad at him for going after Caroline? Who knows? Who cares?

Caroline realized that the entire time she had been laying here on the floor, which was super-dirty, there was a small sizzling sound. The longer she was laying there, the louder and sharper the noise became. Somehow, she was more annoyed about the dirty floor she was laying on, getting her clothes filthy, than the noise ringing in her ears.

Caroline started to loose her grip on reality, due to the blood that kept flowing out of her head and neck. She thought back to her life, from her childhood to this moment. She has had a great childhood, a great youth, but she felt as if there was always something missing. When she met Damon she felt complete for the first time in her life. Her perfect lovestory, as Damon was the perfect boyfriend, didn't last long. There was a lot of jealousy, Damon was the prettiest and most wanted guy of the school, so everyone envied her for dating him. Then one day, this new girl shows up at her school, and that's when things started to change between them. Damon seemed more distracted, wasn't as gentle as he used to be, didn't bring her gifts anymore. He became less affectionate, didn't kiss her with the same amount of love, the hugs started to fade away. He started to hang out with this new girl Elena more. And she was left behind. She hadn't quite made friends by dating Damon , only enemies; even the friends she did have before dating him abandoned her. Or maybe she abandoned them?

Caroline opened her eyes in agony as the noise has now become unbearable. She covered her ears and started screaming , as if somehow that would help. She rocked herself back and forth, and continued doing this for quite some time. And then, all of a sudden, it was done, the noise had gone away, and Caroline thought she was going to be fine.

For the first time since she fell on the floor, she got up and stumbled to the door in the middle of the bus. It was closed. As hard as he pushed and kicked the doors, they just didn't open. So she tried to stumble to the other doors, but never made it there. She had lost all the strength she had inside her, and once again, fell on the floor. It never occurred to her that she could just crawl through the broken windows, just like Elijah.

Laying on the floor, Caroline was convinced she was going to die unloved. No one would miss her, after all, they didn't care to take her out of the bus. Was there anyone else hurt? Damon maybe?

She didn't get much time to think about this.

Suddenly and without warning, there was a loud noise. BANG!

Caroline was blinded with pain as she was buried under the remains of the bus, and as she felt the heat of the flames enclosing her.

_So this is it, this is the end? Not quite how I thought it would be._ Caroline's mind went black.

Damon stood there with the rest of the Mystic Falls' seniors, watching the explosion happen, followed by the burning of the remains.

Holding Elena in his arms, watching the flames go higher and higher, all Damon could think of , trying to hold back his tears was how he let the love of his life slip away.


	2. Chapter 2 : The Shock

Night had fallen, and no one could see anything. It was the first time for almost everyone there to sleep under the stars. For almost everyone. Damon had spent many nights outside; his parents kicked him out of the house when he started slacking in school. They took a lot of pride in good grades, they liked being told how smart their sons were. Or, how smart their son was. Damon's brother Stefan had died 3 years ago in suspicious circumstances. He went missing one day, and about 3 weeks later, his body was found in a lake in a city near Mystic Falls. He was tortured, and there was almost no blood left in him. They had never find the killer, but the most disturbing part was that, after his body was found, it had disappeared again from the morgue. No one knew how it happened, or who took it. There was always someone there, so no one could get in there without being seen. A few days later, one of the women who worked there, confessed that she helped someone take the body out. She couldn't remember who that person was, and before the police could examine her, she had killed herself.

Watching the stars, Damon felt a sudden urge to cry, and go back to his parents, begging to let him back in the house. He would try better at school, he won't be distracted anymore.

Everyone was now firm asleep. Except for Damon, who was still awake. He wondered if they were ever going to find them in this deserted place. There was no cell phone range, no one could call their parents, police, anyone. Would their parents be worried, not hearing anything from their kids ?

He felt Elena waking up next to him.

"Why are you still awake?" she asked.

_She is so ignorant_ , Damon thought to himself. But that's obviously not what he said.

" Don't worry. I just can't sleep out here, these stars are really annoying me. Go back to sleep, I'll be fine." he lied to her. The stars were not annoying him, they were comforting him. He could sleep out here, but he chose not to. How can he sleep, knowing that Caroline is dead? Breaking up with her was the worst thing he ever did. He just wanted to make her jealous by being with other girls, and keep the spark going. But that obviously didn't work out. Instead of making her love him more, he made her hate him. It was a decision he will always regret.

Night passed, and morning came, along with the next question. What are they going to eat? How were they going to get food?

Luckily, no one was hungry. Everyone assumed that the owners of the hostel would get worried. After all, they were supposed to be there by now.

_Lets hope they get worried and call the cops. _ Damon thought, and knew he wasn't the only one thinking this.

They had spent the day by playing games they could remember from their childhood. Even though no one was in the mood to play, this distraction did them good. For a while they were making fun, forgetting what had happened to them, and especially, what had happened to Caroline. But the fun didn't last long. People started to get grumpy because of the lack of food. Some even started fighting.

The day passed slowly, and finally it was night again. No one had come to look for them, and sleeping would get their minds of the hungry feeling everyone was experiencing by now.

"Damon, you haven't said a word today. What's wrong? Are you worried about Caroline?" Damon was so far gone in his thoughts that he didn't hear what Elena was saying.

She poked him in his stomach.

" Damon, seriously? You're still worried about her? My god, just let it be! She is dead now, and maybe that's a good thing. Ever thought about that? Just forget about her, you're with me now !" Something snapped inside of him.

"How can you say that? How can you be so cold? It's like you don't have a heart! What did I ever see in you? Oh that's right : nothing! I'm only dating you to make Car jealous! I am so done with you! Have you even noticed that nobody likes you?" Damon made sure not to raise his voice. He was hissing at her, being careful not to wake anyone up.

Elena was shocked, she didn't see this coming. She felt used by Damon. Used to make someone else jealous. Caroline by all people! She fighting back the tears, her vision blurring. She must not and shall not cry in front of him. She stood up, pretending she didn't care, and walked towards Tyler. He will be nice to her. He was always nice to her.

In the middle of the night, when the moon stood highest, Damon was awakened by a noise. Branches were trampled, a sound similar to breathing. He thought someone had come to rescue them. He opened his eyes, but saw nobody. He must have dreamed it. But a few moments later the noises were back. He sat up, scanning the environment with half-open eyes. He still didn't see anyone, until he shifted his eyes towards the spot where the bus stood, the spot now covered with the remains of the bus and of Caroline. Tears came streaming down his face with this thought. For a moment he could barely see anything. But through his blurred vision, he saw a shape. A shape, not of an animal, but a shape of a human. It was making his way towards the bus... Or what was left of it.

Damon followed this person, being careful not to catch his attention. You can never be sure enough. This person had now reached the remains, and Damon stayed a few feet behind. He looked back to see if no one else saw this person. But everyone was still asleep. He turned back his head, after hearing a scraping noise. This guy, it was obviously a male, was pulling back an iron remain, making of awful noise that was very painful to the ears.

"Hey! Hey! What the hell are you doing !" Damon shouted at him. He had come closer, and could touch this guy, if he wanted to.

The boy turned around, and Damon was both horrified and shocked as he stared into the very familiar eyes.

" Stefan..."


	3. Capter 3 : The Revelation

"Stefan? Is this really you?" Damon's mind went black. He felt stupid for asking these questions. Of course that is Stefan, who else? But he couldn't help it.

"Well, I think it's pretty obvious. Isn't it brother?" Stefan had a grin on his face, trying to look as casual as possible, but Damon could see he was fighting back tears.

"I thought you were dead." Damon said. " We've all been so worried. I... We... What..." He couldn't finish his sentence anymore. All he wanted to do was to hug his brother and cry. For the second time in his life, Damon actually wanted to cry. The first time was when Caroline died.

"It's a long story," Stefan replied. "But I've got all the time in the world to explain if you want to. But I have to warn you, it's dangerous to know"

Damon didn't understand it. _It's dangerous to know, what does that mean? _Damon thought about this for a while, and Stefan didn't say anything either. They just stood their in front of each other, quietly and awkwardly. What do you say to your brother you thought was dead?

"What are you doing here?"Damon asked, remembering how he had followed him here, how he watched Stefan pulling on the remains of the bus.

"There is a girl underneath these remaining parts. A girl I need. I can't tell you it's too dangerous."

Damon didn't understand. Caroline was the only person left in the bus when it exploded. She is dead, why would he need her ?

"I don't care. Kill me if you have to, but I want to know. No! I NEED to know!"

Stefan saw that Damon was being sincere.

"Okay. You're probably not going to believe me, but you must know that what I am going to tell you now is the nothing but the truth. When I went missing 3 years ago, I was indeed taken by someone. He indeed tortured me, but I'll spare you those details. I was indeed drained of blood. The news had said that there was some left, but what they didn't know is that most of it wasn't mine. This person fed me his blood, and took mine. One day he had enough with me, and took me out of the cage he kept me in while he was at work, freed my legs and arms from the chains. He tied my hands to my back with a rope, after which he tied my feet together. He stabbed me in my stomach to make me fall on the floor. He then disappeared for a few minutes, but I could hear a car pulling up on the driveway. He came back, lifted me of the floor and carried me to the car. Yes, this man was very strong, but he was no ordinary man. He placed me, not so carefully , in the trunk, and we drove off. When we stopped, I could hear water running. He took me out, and I actually saw the water running a few feet beneath me. I'm pushed of the bridge, and next thing I know, I wake up in this very cold place." Stefan had to stop for a moment. Tears were streaming down his face, and as he looked up to Damon he could see that he was covered in tears as well.

" I don't need to know this. Just tell me why you need Caroline." Damon couldn't hear this story anymore. He didn't want to know what his brother went through.

" Okay, thank you," Stefan said. He couldn't bear telling this story. It made it so real.

"I have been watching this girl ever since I'm reborn. I know she was your girlfriend, and I know you still love her. I've been watching and look over you, too. I knew she felt miserable and alone. And I knew that if something happened to her you would be crushed. So, I had my witch cast a spell on her, protecting and saving her from any possible death. But there's one downside. She has to turn and live in secret. Being able to turn, she had to drink vampire blood. So, I compelled her mother to spike everything she eats and drinks with blood... Damon? Are you alright? Damon? Damon?! Damon!"

Damon felt as if the world beneath his feet had disappeared. He felt himself collapsing and hitting the ground as his mind went black.

"Damon? Wake up ! Damon, c'mon !" Stefan was trying to wake Damon up, trying everything he could, even slapping him in the face, being careful not to slap too hard or he would break his neck. He held his legs in the air to get the blood flowing to his head. He didn't know if he was doing it right, but he saw this on TV once. If only he had a bottle of water.

"I should have never told you all this. You can't handle it. You..." Stefan felt a movement in Damon's body. His eyes opened and he groaned, reaching for his head.

"You okay? Your head may hurt a while, you hit it when you fell on the ground. You must've fainted." Even though this was all serious business, Stefan started laughing. He felt bad, but he couldn't help it. His brother fainted, mister tough guy.

Damon looked at him, not understanding why he was laughing. And he didn't know why, but he joined Stefan.

They sat there for a moment, doing nothing but laughing. But it didn't last long, the laughter soon turned into cries.

"Wait a second though," Damon said. " witches, vampires, really?" He was confused; this couldn't be true. Vampires don't exist, neither do witches.

"Yes, Damon, witches, vampires. They exist. I'm a vampire, turned by another vampire. It is very dangerous to know this, so you have to keep this a secret. If not, I'll have to kill or turn you. Got it?" Stefan said.

Damon still couldn't believe it, but if his brother said it was true, then so be it. Of course he wasn't going to tell anyone, who would believe him? " Got it. But still, why do you need Caroline?"

"My witch had a vision that Caroline was going to die. So with my blood in her system, she would turn. Unless there isn't enough blood. Then she'd die. But I need to take her out of there to see. If she turned, I have to teach her how to deal with this. Teach her not to feed on humans, to resist the cravings. But there is another problem, an even greater problem. I have followed you here, followed Caroline. Right before the bus exploded, I saw someone climbing into the bus. He stayed there for a few minutes, then came out again. I recognized this man. The person who changed me, warned me for him. His name is Elijah, an Original. I'll tell you that story later. The problem is that he drank from her, meaning that he wants her; she's his now. Let's say he marked her. He will come back for her. But we can't let that happen. We have to protect her!"

"We?" Damon asked. But of course he would help to protect her. Caroline belongs to him, not Elijah.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but I need your help with this." Stefan said.

"Well, I'm in. I'll do anything for Caroline."

"Great!" Stefan hesitated for a moment. "I've missed you brother, more than you know..."

"I've missed you too."

Damon didn't know what else to say, and neither did Stefan.

But their attention shifted as they heard Tyler yelling.

"Elena! Let me go! What's your problem? Desperate much? You know I'm dating Matt!" Tyler was speaking so loud that he woke everyone up.

Luckily, it was still dark and they all went back to sleep, after making fun of Elena, of course.

"So, you dated that girl to make Caroline jealous? Speaking about hitting rock bottom." Stefan joked.

They both laughed, but stopped as there was a noise next to him, coming from the remains of the bus.

Something moved, and they saw a blond head appearing.


	4. Chapter 4

Damon felt his hart swell with joy. His Caroline really was still alive, she even looked okay, apart from that hole in her head. He wanted to hug her, kiss her, tell her how sorry he was, how stupid he was to let her go, to make her jealous.

Stefan looked at her, carefully. What is she going to do? She is supposed to be dead, but now that she isn't, how will she react to that? For now, she looks stunned, surprised. He could see why Damon fell in love with her. He once fell in love, about a year ago. She was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, but she did not belong to him. She did not belong to anyone yet, but she was the sister of a man you do not want know of your existence. Unfortunately, this man knew about Caroline's. But he will not let Elijah take her, he will do everything to prevent it with his brother by his side.

"Caroline,..." Damon started. What was he going to say to her? _Hey, I'm glad you're not dead? _ That was obviously not an option. But he didn't get much time to think about it. Caroline had twisted her head towards him, and snapped. She launched, reaching for his neck, but Stefan was quick and stopped her before she was within biting distance.

"Don't !" Stefan told her. "It's Damon. You remember him, right?"

Caroline sat there, still breathing heavily, almost growling at both of them. She loosened up a bit after hearing his name. After the first wave of rage had faded away, and she could see clearly again, Damon was indeed sitting in front of her. She wanted to cry and never stop, even though she wanted to kill someone out of rage a few minutes ago. Tears began running down her cheeks, faster and faster.

"Your emotions are highlighted, Caroline. What you're going through is absolutely normal." Stefan began to comfort her with these words, repeating them over and over again, while patting her back.

"What did I do wrong?" Damon said, tormented by guilt. He couldn't figure what he had said or done to make her snap like that.

"It's not your fault. Everyone goes through this. But the sun is almost coming up again, so we need to take her, and me, out of here. God knows what they'll do when they see that she is still alive and I'm not dead."

Stefan helped Caroline on her feet, while Damon tried to figure out a way to help without making Caroline snap. With her arm around his shoulder, Stefan tried to lead her to the nearby woods. But her legs were wobbly, and even though Stefan was holding her, she fell. Damon's reflexes, however, have never been so fast, and he caught her before she could hurt herself.

His arms around her, his warm flesh holding her body, the beating of his veins, the smell of his blood. She didn't know how to act. She wanted to kiss him, never let him go. But she also wanted to rip his throat and taste his blood. She tried to suppress this thought, but she couldn't. The feeling just got stronger and stronger and...

"NO!" She pushed Damon away. She shocked herself. She didn't know she could yell this loud, even though she had been a cheerleader. She also didn't know she had this much strength in her; Damon had landed 20 feet away from her.

"Ugh." Damon groaned. His chest hurt, not to mention his back. Stefan didn't say anything about a sudden superhero strength. Did he? Well, at least he now knows how it feels like to fly through the air and falling straight on your back. He got up, very slowly, and hobbled his way back to Caroline and Stefan, who was trying to hold back his smile. He failed miserably. Damon felt like an old man.

"C'mon, we're almost there." Stefan said.

They reached the woods, so they could speak more freely and louder now. They continued to walk until they thought they were safe.

Caroline sat down against a tree. She felt thirsty. Or is she hungry?

"Caroline, why did you push Damon away?" Stefan asked her.

"His blood... The smell... Why are you still alive?" She wasn't looking at Stefan though. She could only see one thing. Damon. Or better: Damon's neck.

"The same way as to why you are still alive, we're vampires..." He said this very carefully, making sure not to catch her off guard.

"Yeah, I figured that out already. Crazy isn't it?" She was very absent. She kept focusing on Damon's neck more and more. Talking about it made her want it even more. Her face began to chance, her teeth began to grow. It hurt like hell, but she didn't notice.

Stefan saw it coming, and caught her again, as she made her way to Damon's neck for the second time.

"You really have to stop doing that !" She hissed at him, annoyed.

"You have to control yourself first, resist the cravings. After that, you can drink animal blood. It won't taste that good, but it's going to stop the hunger."

"But I thought vampires need human blood to survive?" She was getting confused now. Don't they need blood, did humans just make that up to scare people?

"Yes, you need blood for the transition. After that, you can live of animals. You won't be as strong as you would be on human blood though. But you don't need to be strong, we don't have to fight or hurt anyone."

"What will happen if I don't drink blood to complete the transition?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"You'll die."

"So, if I need human blood to complete the transition, why won't you let me drink his?" The urge to rip his throat was back. But Stefan's grip was too strong on her, and her third attempt to attack Damon failed once again.

"Seriously Caroline, did you not understand the part where I told you to control yourself? If you drink from him now, you won't be able to stop. Luckily for you, I'm prepared for this situation. Damon, I took some rope with me. It's in my left back pocket, can you please take it for me?"

And so did he. Stefan, in the meantime, kept Caroline in lock, but now only with one arm, giving his other arm the freedom to take the bundle of rope from Damon.

Within a few minutes, Caroline was tied to a tree. Even though she was extremely strong now, she couldn't break the rope.

"My witch comes in handy a lot." Stefan smiled proudly.

Elena had waken when it was still dark, but the sun was almost coming up again. Maybe someone would come for them today. Her thoughts immediately went to Damon, but she couldn't see him. He wasn't where he was when she fell asleep. His bag was there, and his sweater, but he himself wasn't.

She looked around to find him, and finally, she saw him where the bus was. Or what was left of it. There was someone with him, but who? It was definitely a male. She watched them, and suddenly a girl showed up from underneath the bus-ashes. She was blond, for as far she could see. Caroline? _ I don't understand, it's impossible! She should be dead, how can she be alive? _She saw her launching for Damon, but not enough to really know why. Was she going to kiss him? But that other guy held her back. They got up and went for the woods, but suddenly she heard a fain "NO" and then Damon was in the air after being pushed by this girl. She still wasn't sure that girl was Caroline. Maybe there's a reason why people say she isn't the smartest, or maybe she just couldn't wrap her brain around it. Damon went back to them and they disappeared in the woods.

_I have to follow them._ She got up, everyone was still a sleep, so they didn't notice, and made her way to the woods. She heard the distant voices, and followed them. But the voices faded away, as if they know she was following them.

"Sssssssssshhhhhh" Stefan whispered. "Someone's coming. I can hear the footsteps.

Caroline nodded to let him know she heard it too. They stood their silently, and Damon felt as if his heart was going to explode.

Branches broke off under someone's feet, and finally a head appeared, followed by the rest of the body.

"Elena?" Damon said. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here!"

Elena didn't hear him though, she could only see the blond girl with the bloodshot eyes and large teeth, tied to a tree.

"Caroline?"


	5. Chapter 5

Caroline turned her head to face Elena.

"But it can't be, you're supposed to be dead! Did you escape the bus ?" Elena asked. She was scared, she had to admit that. Caroline looked fine, she didn't even have a scratch.

"No." Caroline said simply. She was enjoying this, making Elena scared.

"Then how can you be alive?"

"Why? Do you care?" Of course she didn't, Caroline knew that.

Elena didn't answer. What was she supposed to say? _Not really, after all, I don't like you because my boyfriend never got over you? _ She couldn't say that.

Caroline never felt like scaring the hell out of someone as much as she did now. But how?

"Come a little closer, Elena," She said, "I have something to tell you..."

Elena moved closer, but didn't trust it. She kept her distance. Something was wrong, she couldn't be alive, not like this.

"A little closer, I have a secret to tell you." Caroline knew Elena loved knowing secrets.

Elena's worries disappeared. Secrets were always her favorite, she'll do anything to know them.

At first, Caroline was just going to scare her, by changing her face and showing her teeth, but she changed her plan when Elena actually listened to her.

"A little closer, I have to whisper it in your ear, no one can know."

Elena looked at Stefan and Damon. _This ought to be good._ She said. She leaned in so Caroline could whisper in her ear.

Stefan was standing right in front of her, looking worried. He didn't keep his eyes of h... Wait … Stefan? The hell? _What's going on here ? Stefan isn't dead either?_

She didn't get much time to think about it though.

"This is why I'm still alive." Caroline whispered, and her teeth began to grow.

"NO! Caroline don't!" Stefan yelled. But this time, he was too late, he couldn't stop her.

Elena felt the sharp sting, followed by some warm liquid running down her neck. She wanted to scream, to run, to fight, but she couldn't. She couldn't even think anymore. Slowly her mind went black.

When she awoke, she was back with the others, who were now starting to wake up as well. She immediately searched for Damon, she had a feeling that he wasn't there, but he was. He was sitting next to Matt.

"I just had the craziest dream ever," she said to the girl besides her. " I dreamed that Caroline somehow escaped the bus just in time, but that she had become a vampire or something like that, because she bit me. And Damon's brother, you know... Stefan, he was still alive too!"

"Yeah, crazy." the girl said, and got up to sit somewhere else, leaving Elena behind, stunned.

Even though Matt was telling him a very interesting story about some football game, Damon couldn't focus. He kept thinking about what happened.

Caroline had bitten Elena. The sight of Caroline in her vampire-form didn't scare him anymore, but this was different. She drank of Elena. Stefan wasn't fast enough to stop her, and Elena eventually blacked out.

"Why aren't you stopping her?" He had asked Stefan.

"I can't just pull either one of them away, Caroline would rip her veins, and Elena would bleed to death, and there is nothing to be done about that." Stefan had replied.

Damon had to be honest that he really didn't care if Elena would die, and he felt ashamed for that thought. He wasn't raised like that, he wasn't a hateful person, but he couldn't help it.

When Caroline was done, and Elena fell to the floor, Stefan had told her that she couldn't feed of humans anymore. She had completed the transition, so now, she could live of animals.

"Fine," Caroline had said, "But this had to be done." She wiped the blood of her chin, for she saw the repulsed look on Damon's face.

Meanwhile, Stefan had cut his own wrist and was now making Elena drink his blood, even though she was still passed out.

"Why are you doing that?" he had asked.

"Vampire blood makes wounds heal faster."

"But isn't that going to make her one now too?" Damon asked. He definitely did not want a vampire Elena.

"Only if she dies, but she won't; the wound isn't severe enough."

Stefan had retreated his arm, and started to clean Elena's neck, when she started to wake. He held her face and looked her straight in the eye.

"What just happened was just a dream, this didn't really happen, it was just a dream." he told her.

"Just a dream." Elena repeated him

"For now, I want you to go back to the others, and when someone asks you where you were, you say you were sleepwalking."

"I was sleepwalking." She repeated him once again, after which she left.

"What the hell was that? She believes that?" Damon had asked.

"Yeah kinda, vampires can influence people into doing or thinking anything. But you have to go back as well, the sun is almost going to rise, and we do not want people to notice you were gone."

So Damon had left.

"And then, in the last 10 seconds of the game, I caught the ball and..." Matt's voice faded away and looked up to the sky, just like Damon, just like everyone else. Everyone started to yell and wave, except for Damon. But it was of no use anyway. The helicopter passed them and disappeared again.

Everyone was quiet, even Matt didn't continue his story, until they heard a noise about 5 minutes later.


	6. Chapter 6

The helicopter, that had passed them just a few moments ago, turned out to belong to the police. A massive search had been organized when they were reported missing, and now all the students were being hauled into a bus that was going to take them home. In the meantime, forensics were looking for Caroline's remains, as the principal told them that she didn't make it out. Damon knew better than that. They didn't find anything, so they swept up the ashes, hoping it would include Caroline's.

The bus started driving, and everyone was excited. Excited to go home, excited to leave this place that holds this terrible memory. Everyone was excited to leave the place were Caroline died. Except for Damon. Caroline had died, but not completely, and he was the only who knew.

You'd think he'd be happy, finding out that she hadn't really died. But he wasn't. Well, not completely. He was happy that his love didn't entirely died, but she had become a vampire. He had always thought that he would grow old with her, start their own little family. But that dream was now crushed. He would grow old, and change, but Caroline would stay the same age. For ever.

Somehow, Damon managed to fall asleep in the bus that was filled with noises. He woke up to a pulling on his arm.

"So, about that football game. I never got the chance to finish the story. So, I'll continue now, if you don't mind." Matt already sat down next to him.

"Actually, I do mind. I mind everything and everyone here. So please get up and go sit somewhere else." Damon snarled at him, apparently very loud.

Everyone was looking at him now, and this made him even angrier.

"What? Don't you have something else to do than to stare at me, as if you're a bunch of retards?"His anger was getting the best of him now. He was boiling inside, and if someone dared to say something, he would explode.

But they didn't. They all sat down, shocked. Some didn't understand why he acted like that but then came the whispers, telling them that it was just the grieve talking.

Damon shut out the whispers and the looks that they were trying to give him secretly. In which they failed terribly.

He tried to think of happy things to suppress his rage. He tried to think of rainbows, unicorns, and other stuff like that. But it didn't work so well.

A few hours later, they were welcomed back home on the town's square. There were all happy faces, everyone was happy to see their kid alive again. Except for Caroline's family and Damon. Caroline's family wasn't happy at all. Which is normal; their daughter just died, and everyone else is standing there, holding their own children. Damon wasn't happy, because he couldn't imagine how everyone else could be happy. Instead of going to his own parents, who had also been very worried, he went to Caroline's, to give them a hug first, as no one has done that yet.

Back home, he had locked himself up in his room, waiting. Even though he didn't know what he was waiting for. Caroline? Stefan? The next day? That must be it. He couldn't wait for anything else.

The next day, he didn't have to go to school. "To get everything together after what happened." the principal had said. He was supposed to meet Stefan and Caroline after school anyways, as they had arranged in the woods, but he still had an entire day to spend. Which he did. In his room. Alone. Thinking. Listening to the voice in his head. Deciding what to do next.

Before he knew it, time was up, and he left the house to go meet Stefan and Caroline near the waterfalls. His parents weren't home, so that made it easy for him to sneak out.

It was quite a long way, which meant that he could be seen by many people. But strangely, there weren't many people on the streets. So finally, after a 15-minute walk. He reached the falls. But they weren't there yet. He looked at his watch to check the time, when he felt a breeze in his back. He turned around to face Stefan.

"Where is Caroline?" he asked

But Stefan only smiled at him.

Damon turned around again, and there she was. She was laughing. It's been such a long time since he'd seen that laugh. So he couldn't help but smile at her too.

"So, how have things been going?" he asked, picking his words carefully.

"Great!" she said. "Stefan's been teaching me to drink animal blood, which was gross at first, but now I quite like it. I can control the cravings now, which is,like, super-fast, because it usually takes years, but Stefan says that it's because I was made to be a vampire, which sounds crazy, I know, and apparently vampires are super-fast and we can manipulate people, so I'm planning to take revenge on a lot of people, and.."

"Okay, easy tiger. You still have to breathe though." Stefan said.

"So, is it really that easy?" Damon asked. Trying to figure out how long it takes to get control back.

"Depends on your personality. Some can do it, others can't. Depends also on how determined you are."

Caroline was still catching her breath and Stefan was still smiling. But that all changed when Damon announced what he had been thinking about all day.

"Turn me."


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you crazy?!" Stefan exclaimed. "You're joking right?"

Damon didn't answer that question.

"Why are you making such a great deal about it? He asked instead. "It's not as if I'm asking you to kill me."

"Technically, you are." Caroline said. "You are asking us to kill you. You have to die first, and you cannot undo death."

"Yeah right!" Damon said. "You're still alive! Death means that you stopped breathing, that your heart stopped beating, that you're in a coffin for the rest of eternity."

"And that's why you aren't ready to be turned." Stefan said.

"Yes, I am. Stop treating me like a child!" Damon didn't understand why they were so reluctant to turn him. He'll be just like Caroline, learn to control the cravings in just a minute.

"Well, You're acting like a child." Stefan said.

"No, I'm not. You know I'm right about everything!"

"Here, let me show you something." Caroline said.

She grabbed his hand, and Damon felt all the anger fading away.

"Feel this." She said.

She moved her hand to her chest.

"I don't feel anything." Damon answered. Confused about what she was trying to do.

"That's because I'm dead. My heart doesn't beat anymore. People believe that I'm dead, and they're right. They're holding a funeral in just a few days. I can't come out at daylight anymore, because people might see me. They'll start wondering, and whatever they do or say, no one can find out about our species."

Damon calmed down now. Of course people believed she was dead. People didn't believe in witchery anymore, so it was impossible for her to have survived that accident. But seeing her and Stefan in front of him, made it so hard for him to believe that they're dead. That vampires are no living creatures. Just the living dead.

"Okay," he said. "Apparently, I was wrong. But that still doesn't change the fact that I want to be turned, I want the rest of my live to be spend with you, Caroline. I want to help you in your fight against Elijah, but how can I do that if I'm a regular human?"

They didn't know how to answer that, so they quickly changed the subject.

"So, school starts again tomorrow?" Caroline asked.

"Yup."

Awkward silence.

"Are you going to my funeral next week?"

"I'll have to."

Another awkward silence.

"I think I'm going back home, before my parents do."

"See you here tomorrow, same time?"

Damon nodded and turned away.

By now, there were more people on the streets. When they saw Damon, they gave him strange looks, as if to ask him why he was on the streets, where he was going to, and where he came from. Damon just stared back at them, until they felt awkward and turned their faces away.

When he reached his house, he saw that his parents were already there.

"Where have you been?" His parents asked him suspiciously.

"I went to get some fresh air."

"In the woods?"

This caught him off guard. How did they know he was there. Did they follow him?

"You've been acting weird ever since Caroline died. You're not dealing drugs, are you?"

Damon didn't even answer that question. He just went to his room, and didn't come out until he had to go to school the next morning.

The seven hours of school went agonizingly slow. Apparently, based on the looks he received, everyone thought he was into drugs. There was even a rumor that drugs were found in the bathrooms, and an hour later the drug police was there. The only class they had visited was his. All the eyes turned towards Damon when they entered with the dogs, but instead of making their way to him, the dogs went straight for Matt. Everyone was shocked as Matt was arrested, but Damon couldn't help but laugh inwardly.

When the bell finally rang, Damon went to the school's library first. Not because he wanted to rent a book, but because he wanted most of the students gone when he left. Leaving for the woods immediately would have raised to much suspicion, as may people would have seen him go there.

After an hour, when he thought most people had already left, Damon slowly made his way to his car. He had trouble finding his keys, so he figured he left them somewhere in the building. He turned around to go back, but bumped against someone. Someone big. He had to look up to see who he was, but couldn't see anything because of the sun.

"I came to fulfill your wish." This man said witha British accent.

"I'm sorry, Sir, I don't have any wishes. You must have the wrong guy."

He walked around him, heading back to the school's building.

"No, you're exactly the one I need." Damon heard this man say.

He wanted to turn around, and ask him what he was talking about, but felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, before he could do or say something.

He fell on the floor, and his mind went black with pain, feeling how he was lifted from the ground, and placed in a small place, probably a trunk.

Engines started. He felt a movement. Definitely a trunk.


	8. Chapter 8

Damon woke up to feel his insides burning.

_What the hell happened? _He thought. He opened his eyes, but couldn't see a thing. The room was darker than dark, the air was humid, and Damon found it difficult to breathe. Perhaps the humidity was coming from some mold. If only he could see to figure it out. If there really was so much mold in here, he would die within a few days, maybe even hours. He saw it on TV once; a man who died after spending 3 hours in a very moldy room.

"What the hell is taking him so long?" Caroline asked, worriedly.

"How am I supposed to know? Maybe he's held up at school, got detention or something." Stefan said.

"Don't you think he would have text me? Or you? He has our numbers. Something is wrong, Stefan, I can feel it!"

"Nothing is wrong, Caroline, he'll have a good reason to be late. A reason he will tell us when he gets here."

"But..." Her voice faded away. She looked at Stefan and saw that he heard it too.

"Where are they going? Are they coming closer?" She whispered at him.

Stefan didn't get the chance to answer that. The sirens had gotten closer and closer, louder and louder, until they had stopped. They had stopped so close to them. They could hear the cops coming .

They had to run. Run fast.

Damon tried to get up, but couldn't. Something stopped him. He moved his hands over his body, to find out that his feet were chained. He let out a groan, he couldn't talk or yell because of the pain he was going through.

His eyes were getting used to dark, and he could discover some things now. He was in quite a big room, supposedly a basement. There were no windows, and for all he could see, no doors either. There were some weapons on the wall. An ax, a chainsaw, a few swords and knives, and a lot of guns. With emphasis on a lot. And that was everything he could see.

"Why the hell did the cops need to be in the woods? They never go there, unless there is a giant emergency for it, like a killer or something. And by never, I mean never. As in never ever. Do you think they know about us?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know. Probably not. Who believes in vampires? Everyone who does gets declared crazy, there is no way a whole police department believes in it. There must be something else going on."

They had arrived at their hiding place. They had run so fast, they both felt their limps burning. Which is something you rarely feel as a vampire. Luckily the police had no dogs with them, or the dogs would have led them here.

Their shelter was a beautiful cottage. Not the small kind of cottage you see in magazines, or in movies. But it was a huge, if not to say giant, cottage, big enough for 3 families with a bunch of children to fit in. Caroline fell in love with it when she first saw it, and it still took her breath every time she entered the house.

Damon heard a car pulling up. Doors opened and shut... Doors? There were several people? A few seconds and footsteps later, he heard someone pulling out keys and opening the front door. The voices became clearer now, and he could distinguish 3 male voices and one feminine voice.

"Go check out our little boy in the basement." The women said. Damon imagined her to be blond, with very white teeth and a cigar in her hand, wearing a big white fluffy coat. Or maybe he just watched to much television in his life so far. He made a vow to change that if he got out of here alive.

He heard something moving, and noticed that there was a bookshelf in here. And it moved. Apparently it was a secret door. Light came in, along with the 3 guys.

They turned on the lights, and Damon felt an immediate pain in his head and eyes. A smirk showed up on their faces.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here."

"Our boy with a deathwish."

"Vampires, huh?"

They were messing with him, coming a step closer with every word they said.

Damon didn't say a thing. He didn't want to give them a reason to mess with him even more, or make them mad.

Two of them got closer, the other one went over to the wall with the weapons.

"Witch ones shall we take?"

"Does it matter?"

He took out one knife, and two guns.

"Better not make too much noise, little guy."

"But first, drink something."

Damon had accepted the drink, thinking about his burning intestines. But as he drank the drink, he tasted the not so ordinary taste. As he figured out what he was thinking, he spit it out.

_Blood? Seriously? They're giving me blood? Why the hell is that for? _ He thought.

"Well, you didn't drink it out, but at least you had a bit. That'll do the trick."

They surrounded him, all of them. The third guy had approached the others, handing over their weapons.

"Now remember, no sound. Not even a sigh."

They made him stand up against the wall.

One of them fired the first shot. It hit him right in his shoulder. He dropped to the floor, but was grabbed by his arms to stand up again. He did what they had said, and didn't make a sound, even though he wanted to scream.

The second one came closer, to stab him in his stomach. He tried not to fall or scream, but it took all of his powers. So that when the third guy shot him in his chest, right next to his heart, he fell to the floor, blood running down his body, onto the floor. The guys laughed, unchained his feet, picked him up and dragged him somewhere. He lost consciousness before he could tell where he was or where they were taking him.

Stefan and Caroline had turned on the news. They had to know what was going on.

"After the kidnapping of their son Stefan, their other son has disappeared as well. Damon was last seen at the school's library. After school, he never made it back home. Anyone who has more information or who has seen him, please contact the police at the following number : ..."

Stefan turned the TV off, and looked at Caroline, who was as shocked as he was.

"He never made it home?" He repeated.

"You think he ran away because we told him we weren't going to turn him?" Caroline felt guilty. If she had known he was going to run away, she would have turned him.

"No, that doesn't sound like him. He would never do that to our parents."

"Well, either way, we have to go look for him!"

"I know, but how?" Stefan didn't know what to do either.

"Can't your witch help us? Like cast a spell, or something, to track him down?"

Stefan looked at Caroline. She had a point. Why didn't he come up with that idea?

Damon finally woke up again, but he was confused. How can he be awake? Those guys had just shot and stabbed him, there is no way he would have survived that. He felt his teeth hurting and growing, realizing that the blood they gave him belonged to a vampire. Did he just get turned?

There was a crackling sound in his head, that was making him crazy. He wanted it to stop. He wanted to rip his own head off to make it go away.

He got up and looked around, to find himself surrounded by fire.


	9. Chapter 9

"Stefan! We have to find him! Say something?!" Caroline said.

"I already called my witch, she should be on her way by now." Stefan answered. "We can't do anything 'till she gets here."

"I hate to wait, she better be here fast."

"Oh, she will be." Stefan grinned.

"Who is she anyways?" Caroline asked.

Stefan just widened his smile. Two seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

"Told you she'd be here fast."

Caroline, somehow, was nervous to meet this witch. What if she was prettier than her? Or cooler? Or nicer? She and Stefan seemed to have quite a connection. Caroline found herself jealous at that thought. How much she liked Damon, she couldn't shake these feelings off. Ever since she met Stefan, she started to fall for him. He has been so nice to her, helping her out. Every time he was near her, she had to try her hardest not to jump on him and kiss him, as if they had always been lovers who hadn't seen each other in years.

Stefan re-entered the room, with a pretty girl. Caroline felt as if she was stabbed through her heart. Out of every witch he could choose, he chose a pretty one? What happened to huge pimples on witches' noses? Caroline also assumed that she was of her age, which didn't make things better.

"Caroline, this is Bonnie. Bonnie, this is Caroline." Stefan introduced them.

"Hello" Bonnie said. "Nice to meet you."

Caroline, sort of, growled at her.

"Right, you want to locate Damon. Of course."

_Of course. _Caroline repeated her in her thoughts.

"Good. I brought a map and a few candles. I'm just gonna set it up here. If that's okay?"

Bonnie didn't wait for an answer, though. She placed the candles around her, opened the map.

"Stefan, since you're related to Damon, I need a little of your blood. Give me your hand."

Stefan gave her his hand. Bonnie picked up a knife, and cut his hand. Blood dripped on the map.

"Okay, we're all set to go." Bonnie said, as she closed her eyes.

"I thought you said she was fast?" Caroline whispered in Stefan's ear.

"I said she was going to be here fast. Not that she 'works' fast."

Bonnie started to move back and forth, getting in a trance. She started to say something in a very weird language, that neither Stefan or Caroline understood. The candles lit themselves, and Bonnie started to speak louder and faster.

Caroline was still skeptical of what she was doing, but Stefan trusted her, so why won't she?

The blood on the map started to move, and eventually stopped again, pointing out a locating.

" That's where he is?" Caroline said. " That's super-far away!"

"Well, how fast can you pack your bags Bonnie?" Stefan asked, and Caroline's jealousy grew. Why did Bonnie had to come with them?

"I can leave now," she answered. "You know my bags are always ready, and waiting in my car."

Stefan and Bonnie were smiling at each other. Caroline had to do something to stop this ridiculousness.

"No offense, but... Don't you have to go to school?" She said.

"I already graduated." Bonnie answered. "But you're my age as well, so are you sure you want to go on this trip? I mean, I don't want you to miss too much school."

That...That...How dare she talk to her like that? She can't steal Stefan away from her!

" I'm supposed to be dead, remember? How can you be graduated if you're not even smart enough to figure that out?" She answered coldly.

"Okay, well, shall we go then?" Stefan intervened.

The walked out the house and to Bonnie's car. Was it just Caroline's imagination, or did Stefan just put his hand on her back, and opened the door only for her and not for Bonnie?

"Why are we taking Bonnie's car? What's wrong with yours?" Caroline asked.

"Mine is too outstanding. We'd be pulled over a dozen times, and if they see me, they'll recognize me..." Stefan said.

"Of course." Caroline mumbled. She felt stupid for asking that. What would Stefan think of her now?

After a 7 hour drive, they finally reached a small city, with a name to difficult to pronounce or even remember.

"Now what? It should be here, but where?" Caroline asked. She was a little annoyed, because Stefan and Bonnie were bringing up memories the entire trip.

"Now we go look." Bonnie said.

"Find out if something strange has happened recently." Stefan added.

And so they began their search for Damon. After an hour, there was still no sign of Damon. It was getting late now, and Caroline really didn't want to spend the night here.

It was then that a firetruck passed them, breaking all speed limits and the siren loud. Stefan tried to hear what was being said inside the truck.

"The woods," he said. "They're going to the woods. Bonnie, jump on my back."

They ran as fast as they could to the woods. The firetruck wasn't there yet, so the chances of finding Damon, before anyone else did, were bigger.

As they entered the woods, they could tell something was off. There was a smell of smoke, and they knew that a fire,at this time of the year, had to be lit by someone; it was too cold to have appeared on its own.

They made their way to the fire, but saw nothing but flames.

"Damon?!" They started yelling repeatedly. Without an answer.

Damon had fallen a sleep again, but was wakened by yelling shortly after that. The flames had gotten closer now, but he didn't care. He could distinguish 3 voices, one belonging to Caroline. She came to look for him. His heart swell with joy.

"Damon?!" He heard again.

"I'm here!" He tried to scream as loud as he could, but the flames made such big noises that Damon thought no one heard him.

"He's here!" Stefan said. "Quick Bonnie, do whatever you have to do! But hurry up, I can hear the sirens coming!"

Bonnie started another spell, again in this crazy language. Stefan and Caroline saw the flames parting, reveling Damon in the middle.

They had heard him! Damon was super-happy! He got up and ran towards them as fast as he could.

Damon saw Stefan, and Caroline, and...

"And you are?" Damon asked the girl.

"Bonnie. Stefan's witch."

"Ah. Nice to finally meet you."

He then started to hug everyone. But as he hugged Caroline, he noticed something. She didn't hug him the way she used to. It felt as if something had changed between them.

"C'mon," Stefan said. " we have to get out of here before the firemen and police arrive."

They all started running away from the fire, but not leaving the woods. Bonnie joined them a little later, as she's not able to run as fast as they could.

Caroline wanted to ask her when Damon got that fast, but was not given the time to.

"My throat, my mouth my teeth," Damon complained. "It hurts so much."

"What happened to you?" Stefan asked, but was shocked as he saw Damon's face, who looked up at him, not knowing what was going on.

Damon's face had changed in a way only vampire's faces could change.

"No!" Stefan gasped. Caroline stared. Bonnie cried.

Damon caught a whiff of blood, coming from a fireman, who got of track to go see if there were any other fires.

He twisted his neck, his canines growing.

"Don't do it Damon!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Well, you rather have me dead? I need blood to complete the transition, don't I?" He taunted her.

"Not like this!" Stefan said. "I have access to a blood bank. You don't have to drink from an actual person. You don't have to be a ripper! You wouldn't know how to stop."

But Damon didn't hear what Stefan was saying. All he could think of was the blood, and how much he wanted it.

" Sorry to disappoint you, brother." Damon said.

He ran towards the guy, who hadn't noticed him yet, throwing himself on him, ripping his throat and tasting the deliciousness that was his blood.


	10. Chapter 10

Damon dropped the body. There was no drop of blood left inside this poor fireman, although Damon didn't care. He was thirsty for more. He tried to wipe off the blood from his chin, but he got completely covered in it instead.

Stefan, Caroline, and Bonnie had followed him, trying to stop him, but failed. It was too late. The guy was dead, and Damon had completed the transition. When they got there, Damon's face was red with blood, his fangs out, breathing heavily.

"Damon! What have you done?" Caroline asked. She was repulsed. Seeing Damon like this, having killed an innocent person, all the feelings she once had towards him had now vanished. Stefan, on the other hand, seemed more interesting.

"I've completed the transition? Don't you see?" Damon said proudly.

"You could have taken just a little bit, instead of draining him!" Stefan said.

"But it tastes sooo good!" Damon answered. "In fact, I think I want some more."

As Damon started to walk towards where the fire was to go find another victim, he dropped to the floor, grabbing his head with his hands.

"Aaah, my head! What's happening?" he exclaimed in pain.

"We can't let you do this." Stefan said.

"Make it stop!"

"Bonnie?" Stefan asked her.

The pain in Damon's head disappeared.

"Fine, we'll do it your way... For now." he said.

"Good. Now lets go."

They walked back to the car, instead of running, knowing that Bonnie wasn't as quick as they were.

"How about you two sit in the back? That way, you'll get to know each other better." Caroline said to Damon and Bonnie. Of course the reason that she wanted them in the back wasn't for them to get to know each other, she just didn't want Bonnie to sit next to Stefan.

They got in the car, but despite Caroline's intentions, no one said a thing. When they got home again, Damon was the first to break the silence.

"So that thing you did to my head? Quite impressive." Damon said to Bonnie.

Bonnie laughed shyly at him, batting her eyelashes. " I can do a lot more..."

Was it Caroline's imagination, or were they flirting?

"Well, I'm going home." Damon said. "When will we meet again? Tomorrow, same time, same place?"

Stefan, Caroline, and Bonnie looked at each other.

"Damon," Caroline said. "You've been missing for a while, you can't go home. Plus, you're a vampire, you can't be around humans..."

"Oh," Damon said. "Fine, I'll stay here than. Plus, I can be around human blood."

"Oh yeah?" Stefan asked. "Remember what happened today?"

"That was just to complete the transition."

"You were going for more."

Damon didn't know how to react to that.

"Well, I can be around Bonnie!" Damon said, victoriously because he knew he was right.

But Stefan neither Caroline wanted to argue with him. Damon was staying with them, and there was nothing he could do about it.

A few minutes later, everyone was asleep, including Bonnie. She decided to stay here as well to keep an eye on Damon, making sure he doesn't sneak out and do something stupid.

The night was short, and Caroline was awakened by a knock. Her heart immediately skipped a beat, hoping it was Stefan who wanted to talk to her, and tell her that he loved her. But she was very disappointed as Damon's head appeared.

"What?" She asked annoyed.

"Can we talk?" Damon asked, although he didn't wait for an answer. He was already sitting besides her.

"Apparently." She answered.

"Well, I'm really sorry for what happened to you, for breaking up with you. It was the worst mistake I have made in my life so for. I only did it to make you jealous, to bring more passion in our relationship." He stopped for a second, expecting Caroline to say something, but she didn't, so he continued. "But you're a vampire now, and so am I. Everyone thinks you're dead, and that's what they probably think of me too. So, since all we have is each other, we can go out again? You know, get back together?" He looked hopefully at her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't feel anything for you anymore. You shouldn't have treated me like that. And just because we're both vampires, doesn't mean we have to get back together. There are other vampires out there, you know. Like Stefan. Now, please get out of my room, I'd like to get all the sleep I need, if I don't, I'll get cranky, and trust, you don't want that to happen."

Well, that wasn't the answer Damon was hoping for, but he did as she said, and left her room. When he was back in his own, he started crying. Caroline just admitted she had a crush on someone else. His brother, out of all people! How was going to cope with that? They had to live together! Well, they didn't have to, Damon could always leave, but he had missed his brother so much, he didn't want to miss him again. Also, he was afraid of what would become of him if he didn't have the support from his brother. He had killed a man, and even though it tasted so good and he wanted more, he was not a murderer.

"Can I come in?" Bonnie asked him softly.

Damon nodded, and so she entered the room, closing the door behind her.

" You okay?" She looked at him with her big brown eyes.

"Yeah, just found out that a girl I really like is into my brother."

"Oh, that's not nice. But you know what they say : It's probably not meant to be."

"That's not what they say." Damon said. And even though he didn't want to, Bonnie made him laugh.

"Come here." Bonnie said. She sat down next to him.

Damon moved a little closer, and Bonnie put her arm around him. He placed his head on her shoulders as she rocked him back and forth, like a mother who comforted her little child.

"You'll be alright." she said. " You'll find someone else."

Damon looked up to gaze straight in her face. Have her eyes always been this beautiful?

"I guess so..."

They moved in closer, and finally, after a few moments of just looking at each others lips, they kissed.


	11. Chapter 11

"I'm sorry. I didn't know I was interrupting." Caroline said. She just walked in on Damon and Bonnie, who were basically eating each other's faces as if they were made from chocolate. She stood there for a second, not knowing what to do. She wanted to say something, but changed her mind, and walked out of the room, and closed the door. Somehow she was now hungry. Hungry for chocolate, and... Stefan. Or maybe a combination of the two? _Let's try Stefan first._ She thought, and walked towards his room, not hesitating. Not even for a second. Even though her heart could be crushed. She opened the door, and there he was. Without clothes. _What a day. First Damon, now Stefan! _She thought, as she walked back to her room, without saying anything to Stefan.

"God, that body!" she let out with a sigh.

"Well, that was awkward." Bonnie said. Her cheeks were flushed. And Damon couldn't help but to love this. Bonnie was beautiful, in every way, and Damon didn't understand why he didn't see that immediately. Maybe breaking-up with Caroline was just a way to get here. Maybe he didn't do it to make her jealous after all.

"Why? She should have knocked. We didn't do anything wrong." And he flashed her his million-dollar smile. His heart melted as Bonnie smiled back at him, a little shyly.

"Here," she said. "Knocking shouldn't be an issue anymore."

There was a click.

"Did you just... lock the door?" He asked, both confused as impressed.

Bonnie nodded. "I can do a lot more." She said mysteriously.

Suddenly, the curtains closed, and the candles were lit.

Damon was definitely impressed. Bonnie pushed him down on the bed, teasing him for a second. But then she was all-in. As far as Damon goes, she had him when she locked the door, and now found himself drowning in her big brown eyes.

Caroline sat on her bed, staring at the wall and still thinking of that gorgeous body that belonged to Stefan. She still couldn't believe it; bodies like that aren't real, they're photoshopped.

"Can I come in?" Stefan asked.

Caroline hadn't heard the knock, as she was so caught up in her daydream. She nodded.

"So, euhm, about just earlier..." Caroline didn't know how to start the conversation.

"It's okay." Stefan said, and Caroline looked at him, frowning. _What was that supposed to mean? _She thought.

"I'd rather have you walk in on me, than Bonnie or anyone else." He said shyly. Was he blushing?

"So, you like me?" Caroline hesitated a second before asking. She wanted to know this, but she also didn't want to know. What if he doesn't like her?

"Yes, I do like you." he answered. "I like you a lot, actually."

If Carolin's heart still functioned, it would have skipped a beat. Could she be any happier?

"But..."

And gone was her happiness. Why did there had to be 'but'?

"You're my brother's ex-girlfriend. I can't do this to him. He really loved you, he would hate me."

"If Damon's the only thing you're worried about, don't. Because I just walked in on him and Bonnie; he seems to have completely forgotten about me."

"But still..." Stefan didn't get the chance to complete his sentence.

There was a noise of glass shattering, followed by a small thump. Stefan and Caroline ran downstairs, not knowing what just happened, and frightened that Elijah found them.

Damon and Bonnie ran after them, still getting dressed.

"What the hell was that?" Damon yelled in panic.

"How are we supposed to know?" Caroline yelled back.

"I don't think yelling is going to help us." Bonnie said calmly.

They reached the living room, and couldn't figure out what had happened. The window was broken, there was glass everywhere, and in the middle of the room was a rock. Stefan walked over there, and picked it up, expecting to find a note, but there was nothing. Just a plain rock.

"Looking for someone?" They heard someone say behind him. When they turned around, they saw a tall, handsome guy.

"Don't worry, I will not hurt you." he said, putting emphasis on _I_.

"Who are you?" Stefan asked. He had walked back to the others, and was now standing in front of them, as to protect them.

"My name is utterly unimportant. But as you wish, I shall give you my name : Joshua. However, the name of my master is more important."

"Your master?" Damon asked, as he tried his hardest not to laugh at this.

"Just like your little, beloved friend Bonnie, I am a witch. And just like Stefan is her master, I have one as well. He send me here to deliver a message."

"You say your master's name is more important than your own, but you haven't named him yet." Stefan said.

"As you wish, sir. My master is Elijah. I am sure, by the look of your faces, you have heard of him before?" Joshua taunted them.

"Why are you here?" Bonnie now asked.

"As I said I am here to deliver you a message. I wish to give it to you peacefully, after which I shall leave. I do not want to cause any problems. My master shall not grace me anymore if I do. All the rights of troubles belong to him, and I do not seek to take those rights away from him?"

He sounded like a robot. As if Elijah had made him say these things over and over again.

"Your message?" Bonnie said. She was bored by now. At first Joshua was intriguing, but now he was just boring. He kept talking in this fancy British accent, and it was getting on her nerves.

"Right, my dear." He said, after which he took an envelope out of his jacket. "Here it is. I shall hand it over to you, sweetheart, for you lack strength and thus cannot harm me physically." And so, he walked over to Bonnie and gave her the note. Afterwards, he walked towards the window, leaving the way he had come in.

"Well, that was interesting." Caroline said.

"Yeah, but my windows are broken." Stefan stated.

"Hellow? This dude just said he was sent by Elijah, and all you're worried about are your windows?" Damon snarled.

"Damon's right." Bonnie said. "Worry about what's in that envelope, I can fix the windows."

And so she fixed the windows. She closed her eyes to have a better concentration. Not long after that, the little pieces of broken glass were lifted from the ground to form a window again.

They opened the envelope, to find a short note, written in graceful handwriting.

I sincerely hope that you do not wish to fight me.

I shall come to collect what belongs to me and, for once, also what belongs to my family.

I shall be arriving soon, although I chose not to tell you when.

Elijah


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm guessing Elijah is British too." Caroline said, in an attempt to break the tension.

Everyone laughed nervously. No one felt like laughing, though. They had to find a way to defeat him, or at least find a way to escape. But they all knew that that was barely possible.

"What does he mean with ' what also belongs to my family' ?" Stefan said, staring at the piece of paper.

Everyone shrugged, for they didn't know the answer to that question.

"Well, it can't be good." Damon said, only to say something. He thought of what Stefan had told him about the originals. "If we're lucky, Elijah doesn't want Caroline for himself but, maybe, one of his brothers does, and he's just the deliverer."

"How does that make us lucky?" Stefan said.

"Well, maybe, since we don't know anything about the others, they might be nice people. Or at least nicer than Elijah."

"It could be possible." Bonnie continued. "We only know Elijah and his cruelty, but that doesn't mean his family is the same. It could be possible that Elijah has to come for Caroline to bring him to one of his brothers."

"Then why didn't he come for Caroline himself, instead of sending his brother?" Stefan raised his voice. He was getting mad at them for thinking this, while Caroline's life could be at stake.

"Maybe he's shy, and is afraid to talk to her?" Bonnie said intimidated.

Stefan was standing in front of them now, just a few inches away. His fangs were out, and he was breathing heavily.

"Are you stupid?!" He yelled at them as he punched a hole in the wall.

Bonnie and Damon looked at him in shock. But their shock and Stefan's anger disappeared as they heard a sobbing coming from the other side of the room.

"What's wrong, Caroline?" Stefan asked worriedly.

"What's wrong?" She repeated. "What's wrong?! Are you stupid? What could possibly be wrong? Oh I don't know, I just found out I'm pregnant? Seriously Stefan! Elijah just send us a note that he's coming for me! I don't care if it's for his family, because the oldest vampire-family wants me! Remember? I don't care if the others are less cruel, because they're still the oldest vampires, plus they're family! They can't be very different!" Caroline yelled in fury.

"I'll be in my room if you need me." Damon said, knowing that this is something between Stefan and Caroline, and it would be wrong to get involved. He walked up the stairs, followed by Bonnie.

"I'm sorry..." Stefan said. What else could he say?

"No," Caroline answered. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you, that was wrong of me. I just... I just needed to get that out."

"I understand." Stefan said calmly. "But for what it's worth, I will fight for you. I will not let him take you, even if it costs my own life."

Caroline looked up at him with big eyes. Sacrificing his own life to save hers was the most noble thing someone could ever do. Damon surely would never do that.

"And there is this one other thing." Stefan continued. He gave her a mysterious look that send chills all over her body.

He moved in closer, and grabbed her chin. " I do like you a lot, and I don't care if you're my brother's ex. He's moved on too."

His lips gently touched hers, after which they shared a passionate kiss. But it didn't last for long, their kiss was abruptly interrupted.

"Am I interfering something here?" A voice said.

They both turned around, a little shy for being caught in this act of passion. What Caroline saw, made a feeling of pure hatred swell up in her body.

"Elena?!" She said in disbelief.

"Katherine." Stefan mumbled.

"Missed me?" Katherine teased Stefan.

"Not really. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just visiting an old friend. I bet you're really happy to see me."

"Why are you really here, Katherine? I don't have time for these games."

"Right, because you rather lock lips with that blond bimbo over there."

"Hey!" Caroline exclaimed in indignation. She was still too confused to say anything else.

"I'm here because I heard you've got a little situation. Elijah, I've heard?"

Stefan didn't answer.

"So it is true. Fascinating, although I can't seem to figure out why he wants her."

"Does it matter?" Stefan said. "You don't care about anyone else. So just get on with it and tell us why you're here."

"I've come to help. You see, I know a thing or two about the Originals. They're the reason I'm vampire. Because I'm a doppelgänger. So I can help, but we also need the other doppelgänger to help us." She said.

"Who is the other doppelgänger?" Caroline asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Elena, my dear. I think you know her."

"I do not want her help." She said firmly.

"Well, her help might save your life. You see, no matter what or who they want, they want the doppelgänger more. So if we can convince her to help you, and I'm sure we can since she still has a crush on Damon, you'll walk away."

"But what will happen to her?" Stefan asked.

"Does it matter?" Caroline said in anger. "It's time to take revenge on that dirty piece of mud. By the way would you rather keep her out from all this and surrender me to Elijah?"

"Of course not. But I don't want too many innocent people to get hurt."

The coast seemed to be safe. There was no yelling, in fact, it sounded as if they were talking to another person. Damon and Bonnie decided to go back downstairs, and see if the house is still intact.

They could perfectly hear and understand the third voice by now. As they walked into the living room, Damon saw a very familiar girl standing in front of her.

"Elena?" he asked confused. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you find us?"

"Chillax, little boy," Katherine said in her always teasing voice. "I'm Katherine, a very old vampire. I'm a doppelgänger, and so is Elena. Which is why we look exactly alike, to answer your next question. I'm here to help Caroline, but we'll have to trade Elena for her."

"Perfect!" Damon said. "Exactly what she deserves! When can we get started?"

"Now this is an attitude I like. Why can't you be more like your brother Stefan?"

"Just answer." He said coolly. Katherine had helped him out the first days after his transition, teaching him everything he had to know, except for feeding of animals. He was a true ripper in those days, and he didn't care, because he had Katherine and that was all that mattered. But ever since she turned his back on him, saying he was just a toy and she'd gotten tired of it, he just couldn't bring up any form of kindness towards her.

"We'll have to pay her a visit first, to see if she'll help. I can leave..." Katherine looked at her watch. "...now?"

And so they had left after sunset, making sure it was dark so the chances of being seen by anyone was a lot smaller. They arrived at her house, all decorated for Halloween. They could hear the snoring coming from her room. For now she was sleeping peacefully, but she was in for a true nightmare.

Elena was wakened by a soft breeze circling through her room. She felt watched. She turned on her night lamp next to her. Her window was open, but didn't she close it when she went to bed? Strange.

She went to close the window, and when she was back in her bed, she looked around her room to make sure there was no one actually in her room. Since she saw nothing or no one, she turned out the light, and tried to get back to sleep. If she only checked behind her, or in her closet, or under her bed.

Before she could fall back asleep, she felt a hand softly touching her skin. She turned her light on as fast as she ever had.

What she saw next terrified her so much, she wished it was a dream. But it wasn't. She saw herself standing in front of her. She was about to scream, but felt a hand covering her mouth from behind. When the scream had died away, the hand let go. Elena looked around the room, to see that there were 3 more people standing there.

Stefan? Damon? Caroline?

She had no idea what was going on, but what was going to happen to her was for worse than this.


	13. Chapter 13

Elena felt a hand covering her mouth again as she tried to scream. Elena – was she dreaming of herself ? – was suddenly standing in front of her. There was definitely a difference between Elena and Elena in front of her. In this version of herself, Elena had curly hair, she herself – the original Elena – had straight hair.

"You're not going to scream. You're coming with us, and you will not let anyone know where you are." Elena said to Elena.

"I'm not going to scream. I'm coming with you." Elena repeated.

Everyone smiled in satisfaction. This went better than expected.

Back at the cottage, Stefan locked all the doors and windows, just in case Elena tried to escape. Damon led Elena to the couch. He was the only person she felt she could trust.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked her, a little clumsy. It didn't feel right doing this to Elena, even though he didn't know what they were going to do to her. He didn't want her to get hurt, especially not by Original Vampires. There was a part of him that actually really liked Elena, but he had always pushed that feeling away, telling himself that he was just dating her to make Caroline jealous. Watching her sit on the couch, looking frightened, made those feelings come back. He wanted to hug her and tell her that she'll be fine. But he didn't. He couldn't tell her that, because he didn't know if she'll actually be fine. He couldn't hug her because he was with Bonnie now. Well, he wasn't sure about that because they never talked about it. So, instead he just sat next to her.

"Am I dreaming?" she whispered in fear. "I mean, I can see myself standing in front of me?"

"Okay, here's the deal." Katherine said a little annoyed for having to explain this. "I'm not you, thank God. I'm Katherine. I may look like you, but I am much, much older. I'll leave out my exact age, but the thing is : I'm a vampire…"

No reaction at all from Elena. She just stared, but found her voice after a few minutes.

"Vampires don't exist." She said, although she wasn't sure anymore. What other reason could there be for them to be standing in front of her.

"So, it wasn't a dream?" Elena added, as no one said anything, remembering seeing Caroline in the woods after the accident.

"No," Damon answered. He had to try so hard not to say _honey_. "Stefan made you believe it was a dream, but it wasn't."

"How? And where have you been? Everyone is super-worried."

"Vampires have that ability. We also compelled you to not tell anyone where you are. Where I have been, is quite a long story and we don't have the time for that right now."

"So, basically, my mind isn't safe either? Just like my body?" Elena was back to being her intelligent self. She figured it out quickly that neither her mind nor her body would be safe with them. Her mind was open to be compelled and there was nothing to do about that. Her body was basically a living blood bank, and she didn't think she could fight a vampire.

"Not exactly." Stefan said, " There is one herb that you can take, or wear that prevents vampires from compelling you." He was careful not to mention which herb, just in case.

"It also makes your blood less tasty." Katherine added. "But first, we have to know if you'll help us no matter what. Only then we can give it to you."

"Why would I need to help you? You're vampires, can't you do it yourselves?" she asked.

"No , we really do need your help, and your help only. Plus I know something that you might want in return." Katherine said, pointing to Damon with her eyes.

"I guess if there's no one else that can help you?" it sounded more like a question than like a statement. She wanted to be with Damon more than anything, but that didn't mean he wanted to be with her.

"Great." Katherine said and walked towards the kitchen. She opened a cabinet and came back with a beautiful necklace in her hands.

"This is for you, it's filled with vervain, so no vampire can compel you anymore. You should probably drink vervain too, if you don't want to become a drink, but I'm not going to give that to you. Obviously." She said. "Glad to have your cooperation."

Elena accepted the necklace, but Damon took it out of her hands.

"Here, let me help you." He said.

Elena blushed as he put the necklace on. Luckily, he couldn't see it.

"Just so you know," Katherine said, "If you bail on us, I'll hunt you down, and kill you, because it there's one thing vervain doesn't stop it's the murderous hands of a very old and grumpy vampire."

Elena nodded.

"So, basically, you'll have to surrender yourself to the oldest vampires in history." Caroline said annoyed. She still didn't like Elena, and she was far from happy that out of all people Elena had to be the one to help her.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Yeah, we're not going to tell you why, but, uhm, they have a thing for doppelgangers, and since you're a doppelganger… Plus, if you don't, one of us will die. You won't. They'd like you to much. I think." Caroline answered.

"Doppelganger?" She said as she looked at Katherine. "So that's why I look so much like you?"

Katherine nodded, watching her very closely to see if she was about to change her mind.

"Okay." Elena said to everyone's surprise.

"Good girl." Katherine said.

"C'mon, I'll show you your room. You can't go back to your house. It's too dangerous." Stefan said.

"But.."

"We have it covered. We compelled them to believe that you're going to stay with your uncle."

"Seriously? But I hate my uncle, how can they believe that?" She said impressed.

Stefan and Elena left the room, followed by Katherine and Caroline, each going somewhere else. Bonnie started to leave too, but Damon grabbed her arm.

"I need to talk to you." He said.

"Okay…"

"Not here, in the car. I don't want anyone else to hear us."

Once in the car, Damon didn't hesitate to say what was on his mind.

"What's going on between us? Because I'm getting this feeling that you don't really like me, only my exceptional kissing abilities. So please correct me if I'm wrong…"

Bonnie didn't answer. It was true that she didn't have feelings for him, and that his kissing abilities were indeed very exceptional, but how could she tell him that?

"Great! So that's why you didn't say anything when Katherine suggested Elena could 'get me in return for her help'. Nice, Bonnie, really nice!"

"I'm sorry! I couldn't tell you! You were sad because of Caroline, and I felt bad."

"So, it was out of pity?!"

"Elena is a way better catch for you, Damon, I'm sorry." Bonnie said.

"I guess everyone is a better catch than you. At least Elena would never treat me like you did. Pity, huh !" He exclaimed.

"Don't forget that the main reason you started to date Elena was to make Caroline jealous. Think before you preach." Bonnie said as she left the car to get back inside the house.

It was then when Damon discovered an envelope on the backseat. He opened it, and noticed that it was another letter from Elijah.

"As the Halloween decorations slowly make their way to the houses, I will too find my way to yours. Do not keep from me what I seek, for what I seek is very important. No matter how many doppelgangers you have. – Elijah. Ps. Close the blinds if you don't want anyone looking in."


	14. Chapter 14

"He'll come when the Halloween decorations make their way to the houses?" What's that supposed to mean?"Caroline asked, stupidly, because she knew that people had already started decorating their houses. All of a sudden she felt a huge feeling of sadness. Not because Elijah was about to come, but because she missed her home and her parents. Halloween had always been one of her favorite holidays, she always went overboard with the decorations as her parents always told her. She drove past her house a couple of times to see if they were decorating already. They were always the first to do so. But there was nothing, no decorations, the flowers were dead un crumbled as if they hadn't had any water lately, the blinds were always closed. It looked as if no one lived there, it looked dead, ironically. She wouldn't be surprised if a sign would show up next week saying : for sale.

"Well, it means we don't have much time left, I say a few hours . At most." Stefan answered.

"I don't think we have that long," Katherine said, "He's probably been in town for a while. Plus he has been watching us and knows we have the doppelganger. I'd say we prepare ourselves, leave, and give him a clue."

"So, now you want to leave? Why, you got scared?" Caroline said arrogantly.

"I'm not talking about running away, I'm talking about leaving this house. We can go to the woods to meet him there. If we stay here and the house gets ruined, people will wonder what happened whenever they finally discover this place. The woods is much saver, trees fall all the time , no one is going to wonder why there is a branch laying on the ground. But I think you could have figured this out yourself if you had brains in your head…"

"Okay, that's it!" Caroline said, as she made her way to Katherine with the intention of showing her who was the best and strongest in this house.

But Stefan was faster than her. He stood in front of Katherine to prevent Caroline from doing something she might regret .

"Stefan, get out of my way! I know you want to rip her heart out yourself!"

"Actually, I don't. We need her for this, and she can come in handy in the future. So calm down, and let's just do what she says."

Caroline seemed to have calmed down, but she was obviously still angry.

"Great. Now, what do we have to do?"

"Just stick to the plan, we'll go to the woods, keep Elena hidden and pretend that I'm her so we can catch him off guard, and that's when Bonnie comes in. Clear?" Katherine said.

"How will he know where we are?" Damon asked.

"We'll leave him a clue at the front door saying : what you desire most can be found in the woods. Search and discover?"

"Perfect. What are we waiting for?"

Stefan started writing the letter, while Caroline and Bonnie put their jackets on. Katherine was raiding the last bottle of wine, which was the same age as she was. She made a disgusted face, as the taste didn't seem to please her. Damon was hugging Elena, who was very frightened for what was about to happen. It was remarkable that she didn't run away, as what most people would have done, including Stefan. She was more afraid to run away, than to face what was coming. Damon was telling her that she'd be fine, that no one was going to hurt her, not even the Originals. But the look on his face told a completely different story. Everyone had put a mask on in front of Elena, trying not to scare her out of this situation. But Elena never hesitated. She would do this for Caroline, because she still felt guilty. She felt as if the bus-accident was her fault. If Caroline had still been dating Damon, the accident may have never happened, or if she had just let Damon go and get her out. So if it meant that she'd have to sacrifice her own life to save Caroline's, because she didn't get that change with the bus, than she would.

"Are you two lovebirds done?" Caroline said annoyed. "Let's get this over with."

And so they left the cottage, leaving the envelope at the door. They couldn't run, even though that's what they all wanted to do, but Bonnie and Elena could never keep up. After a few minutes, they had reached the woods. It was dark by now, which made everything even more frightening. They told Elena to hide After a big, if not to say giant, trunk, from where she could not be seen. Luckily she was wearing black clothes.

Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Katherine and Bonnie all lined up. Suddenly all of them felt the urge to say goodbye, as if they were about to die. Bonnie started crying, and Katherine had to push back some tears as well, which startled Stefan. He had never seen her cry. They all exchanged hugs, some were quite awkward, others were very loving. Stefan and Damon looked at each other for a while, so that if one of them died they would both be able to remember each other's faces.

But then, their hugs and goodbyes were abruptly brought to an end as they heard the sound of branches being trampled. Luckily, Elijah was coming from the right direction so there was no way he could've seen Elena.

As the dark and blurry figure appeared, Katherine knew that something about Elijah was different.

"That's not Elijah." She whispered.

"Then who is he?" Stefan whispered back.

"His brother, Klaus."

Within a second, Klaus stood in front of them, with a big grin on his face.

"I'm sorry, I know you're expecting my brother Elijah. I send him away, he will not steal my possessions away from me. Now, I see you have brought my wishes." Klaus said with a very British accent watching Caroline and Katherine. "Come closer my dear." He said, reaching his hand out to Caroline, but as she hesitated, he extended his arm towards Katherine.

"Come on now, don't be scared. I won't hurt you. Now…" Klaus said as his grin turned into a victorious smile.

But his smile abruptly disappeared, as there was another sound of breaking branches. To others had heard it too. The sound came from behind them. They wanted to know who was coming, it couldn't be Elena, but they also didn't want to turn their heads away from Klaus, because they didn't know what he would do. Little did they know that the person was enclosing them was on their side, here for a reckoning.

"Now, now, brother." A small bubbly voice said, but no one saw a shape, of any kind. For all they know, it could be a monkey. If vampires exist, talking animals could exist too.

"Rebekah?" Klaus said suspiciously.

"Wrong."

"I only have one sister. Reveal yourself, you lying coward!"

"Wrong again."

Klaus face changed as he realized who was coming for him.


	15. Chapter 15

Klaus dropped to the floor in agony.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" He screamed, grabbing his head.

"Bonnie?" Caroline whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Bonnie said, wondering who could be doing this to Klaus. "I'm doing nothing."

They all looked at each other. Neither of them were able to figure out what was going on.

"Your witch is right. She's not doing anything. I am." This bubbly voice said.

And once again, they could hear footsteps. As they turned around, a shape appeared. This person was wearing a big black coat with a hood that was covering her face. They were still trying to figure out who she was. She said she was Klaus' sister, but not Rebekah. But as far as they knew, Klaus only had one sister. They were all very curious to see who she is. As the girl came closer, they seemed to be drawn to her.

"Calm down, calm down, I'm not such a special person," she said. "You do realize that you're standing in a very unnatural pose, right?" She added as no one seemed to understand what she was talking about.

It was true, their body was indeed in a very weird and unnatural position. Their upper body was turned completely towards her, as if they were trying to walk towards her but their legs had stayed behind. If she hadn't made that comment, they probably wouldn't have noticed the pain in their backs. They loosened up a little bit, but still stayed wary.

With one gracious move the girl lifted her hood, revealing a young and pretty face.

All this time, Klaus had continued screaming and crawling around. But now, watching this girl he stopped for a second, trying to grasp who was standing in front of him.

"Hello Katherine." The girl said. The others immediately looked at each other. They were worried that their plan was ruined. Klaus himself seemed to look angry but it could just be the pain.

"Elisabeth" Katherine and Klaus said at the same time. Katherine made a bow, as if this girl was royal and she was her servant.

The others were completely lost now. They didn't understand what was going on.

_Who is Elisabeth? Why does Katherine now her? Why did Katherine make a bow? Why does Klaus look scared? Is she a witch? Is she really Klaus' sister? Does that make her a vampire? _ These were the questions Damon, Stefan, Caroline, and Bonnie were struggling with.

"Elena, dear, you can come now." Elisabeth said.

And so, Elena stood up from behind the branch, not even bothering wiping the grass of her clothes, as she , too, was confused.

Hello there, brother." Elisabeth said with a smile on her face.

Klaus didn't answer. The pain seemed to have stopped, and now they could see that he actually looked scared. They could also see that he was trying to figure out a way to escape. Elisabeth noticed that too.

In the heat of the moment, Klaus ran. But he didn't make it far. He suddenly fell to the floor again, this time not in pain, but as if he had run into a wall. He came crawling back to the center.

"Now, now, brother," she said, "I thought you were smarter than that. But I guess you missed that gene. Don't I get a hug?"

"Why would I want to hug you?" Klaus answered, a disgusted look on his face.

"O well, I don't know. Maybe because I'm your sister? Maybe because this is the first time we meet? Do you know how hard it was to track you down? "

"Of course I know how hard it was to track me down; I did everything I could for you not to find me. I'm still figuring out how you did find me after all this time. I thought you had finally given up."

"How can I give up on my own family? You seem to have the answer to that, didn't you carry your own family with you in caskets?"

"How did you find me, Elisabeth?" He said, trying to get her focus down so maybe the mental wall would go down too and he could escape.

"Oh, a little bird told me." Elisabeth said. "Now, why do you look so disgusted?"

"Because you're a monster!" He yelled. He was losing his temper now.

"Look who's talking. Do we have prove that I'm a monster? I don't think so. You, on the other hand…"

"We may not have prove, but the fact that my mother never told us or at least my father about you and went away to give you to a random couple must mean something."

"Auch." She said, acting more hurt than she actually was. "Yeah, it meant that being around wolves became more dangerous every day, and she was going to turn every one of you into a vampire. Now who takes away the soul of a baby is what she said, if I remember correctly."

Klaus tried to run again, but failed too. He didn't get up though, he just stayed on the floor as if he had given up.

"I can tell you were the others are, just leave me alone." He said in his last miserable attempt for an escape.

"I already know where they are, we just need to get rid of you. You see, none of us like you, Klaus. You're a monster, and the way you live your life is not how we chose to live."

She paused for a second, building tension.

"Please, I can change." Klaus started crying. Apparently the thing he wanted most was not a doppelganger but a life.

"No you can't. But that's okay. I could let you go, for now. On one condition." She said.

"Yes! I'll do anything!"

"Leave Caroline and the doppelganger alone."

"Okay! I promise!"

"Fine" Elisabeth said, and her firm gaze disappeared, making her look much younger.

Klaus, cautiously, walked away, trying to see if the wall was still there. But as he noticed that the wall was gone he ran. He ran as fast as he could, and after a second, he was gone.

Damon, Stefan, Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena had watched everything that has happened as if they were watching a movie. It seemed surreal.

Elisabeth turned towards Katherine.

"Why did you let him go? You know he's scared of you, you know he's going to build a hybrid army. He'll come back for Elena's blood, he'll come back to kill all of us!" Katherine said.

"Of course I know that. But don't worry, I've got everything covered. You will all be safe, including Elena, as long as you move in with me and my family. He may think he's stronger than us, but he's got that wrong. There's a reason he's scared of me; he knows that he could never fight me and win."

"You still have to tell me exactly why he's so scared of you. You're just a witch, I'd say he could easily fight you."

"I'm not just a witch. But please, come to my house and I will tell you everything."


	16. Chapter 16

They had been walking for several minutes now, and just when Caroline was about to ask how far it still was, a huge mansion appeared in front of them.

"Wow." Everyone gasped.

Elisabeth was already at the front door.

"Come on now, don't be shy." She said.

And thus, they walked slowly towards the house, almost dislocating their heads by turning them around so fast, just to get a look at what was going on outside.

It was a very beautiful house. It was painted white, but with blue window frames and blue doors. There was a swing on the porch, big enough to fit 2 people in. The garden was even bigger than the house. There were sculptures everywhere. Sculptures of people, assumingly all of the Originals, and sculptures of animals. Their pets maybe? Did Originals even have pets? Lots of gardeners were working and running around, planting flowers and other trees. Not just random trees, but exotic trees. As in palm trees. There was a path, and as far as they could see, it lead to a bench, completely made of gold, surrounded by roses.

They finally made it to the door, but only Elena and Bonnie could enter, and Katherine. She must have been here before. The others had to be invited in. Elisabeth found this very amusing. She stood there, laughing, teasingly asking them why she should invite them in. Damon, Caroline and Stefan looked at each other with a face that said : "Are you kidding me?"

But Elisabeth wasn't. She really wanted to be sure that they were on her side, not on Klaus' side. And thus, after they all told her why she should let them in, and after they promised her to be on her side, and to fight along with her against Klaus, even though they didn't want to fight, she invited them in.

The glory wasn't just outside. If the rest of the house was like the foyer, they would probably die of too much beauty. If that's even possible.

"Follow me." Elisabeth said.

And once again, no one knew where to look first. The furniture was also completely in gold, which they all found strange. It was as if they considered themselves rulers of the world. The kitchen, on the other hand, was a dream for anyone who loved to cook. It was big, and had every equipment that was necessary for a kitchen. And the smell! Oh, that smell, how marvelous! The other doors were locked so they couldn't see what's inside. They entered the living room where, yet again, almost everything was made out of gold.

"Please, sit down." Elisabeth said.

Quite awkwardly, they all sat down on the giant golden couch. Surprisingly, it was more comfortable than expected.

They were immediately offered thee, for it was a tradition in the Original family.

"So," Katherine said, "You were going to tell us what you are exactly."

"Ah yes, of course, my dear." Elisabeth answered, sipping her thee before continuing. " First of all, it is really nice to see you again. Also, thank you for letting me Klaus was coming here. Stefan," She said, turning her head towards him, "It's really nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

Stefan didn't know what to think of that. Katherine had talked to this girl about him? What was that supposed to mean? Being his polite self, he said : "It is completely my honor to meet you, miss Elisabeth"

She seemed pleased with that, and faced everyone else first, before continuing her story.

"When my mother was pregnant with me, something happened. Something terrible. Our village was haunted by werewolves, and one night, a little baby girl from our neighbors was bitten, and died a few days later. Scared by this, my mother and father made the decision to give me away. The fact that they hadn't told anybody about the pregnancy made this a lot easier, for no one knew off my existence. My mother left a few days later, having organized and taken care of everything that had to be done. They had used the excuse that my mother was going to stay with some witches for a while to learn new spells. You are aware of how the Originals were turned into vampires , so it isn't a secret that she's a witch. She had found a lovely family, all witches too. And so, the day I was born, she gave me to them and left. My 'new' family raised me well, and as I had my mother's genes, I too became a witch. Then one day I heard the news that my brother, whom I had never met, was attacked by the wolves and died. I wanted to leave, and look for my family, but I wasn't given the time. At least, not that night. I was laying peacefully in my bed, thinking about what has happened, and how that was the reason I wasn't with my family in the first place. Then, out of nowhere, I felt as if my body was being crushed. My teeth hurt, and I screamed, for I was only 16 years old and had never experienced that much pain. My foster mother and father, as I like to call them, ran into my room, but were shocked as they saw my face. I heard them gasping : 'This can't be. How did this happen? She's a vampire?' I realized that my mother had used some sort of spell to turn her family into vampires to keep them safe from all this danger. My foster family kicked me out of their home, for they did not want a bloodsucker in their house. And so my quest began. I searched everywhere, but never found them, until a few months ago. They were having a picnic in the park, and I accidentally stumbled upon them. Everyone was there, except for Klaus. But I already knew back then that Klaus was no good. No one believed me when I said I was their sister, except for my mother and father, who obviously recognized me. Since then, we are one happy family again, we just need to lose Klaus. And that was basically the story of my life. I hope I didn't bore you?"

"No," Damon said, "Although we just wanted to know what you are." He still wasn't sure what she was now. A vampire? Or a witch that doesn't age?

"Of course. Well, my dear, I am a witch. But I am also a vampire."

"But how? You can't be both? I mean, my mother lost all her powers when she was turned into a vampire." Bonnie said.

"I don't know why, my dear. I don't know why my mother didn't turn into a vampire herself. There are questions we just can't answer. No matter how much we want to, we just can't."

"So, how old were you again?" Caroline said.

"16, my dear, 16." She said. " A beautiful age to stop aging, right?"

"Great", Caroline said, "A 16 year old helped us. How wonderful."

"Now, now, Caroline." Elisabeth replied. "That's just one way of looking at it. Technically, I'm a few centuries older than you."

"So where is your family now?" Stefan asked.

"Follow me, I will bring you to them. I'm pretty sure, they're in the cinema room."

"Cinema room?" Caroline whispered to Stefan.

"Yes, cinema room." Elisabeth answered instead of Stefan.

Once again, they found themselves surrounded with beauty as they walked into the cinema room. The cinema screen was, obviously, the eye catcher of the room. It covered the entire room. There was a popcorn machine, and movie posters on the wall.

"Twilight? Seriously?" Katherine said.

"I know, but they insisted to watch it, but it's a disgrace as to how they portray vampires. Sparkling instead of burning when we step into the sun., huh!" Elisabeth said, a little offended.

"I know dear, but we just had to see it." the mother said. Well, they thought it was Elisabeth's mother, as there were only two girls in the room and she looked the oldest.

After they all introduced themselves , they went back to watching the movie, while Elisabeth, Damon, Caroline, Stefan, Katherine, Bonnie, and Elena went back to the living room.

"I'm sorry for my family, they always have to see the end of a movie, no matter if they actually like the movie or not. You will get to know them better. "

"So what's the plan with Klaus?" Caroline said. She wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"well, I'll tell you about that later, you've already been through so much today, you must be exhausted."

Caroline snarled. She was indeed exhausted, but she wanted to know what the plan was.

"Calm down my dear, I will tell you…Tomorrow."

_Great, _Caroline thought, _Klaus might already come to kill us by tonight. Didn't Katherine mention a hybrid army?_

"You know where the kitchen is, Elena, ask the cook to make you something. I heard your stomach growling." Elisabeth said to Elena.

Elena smiled a little shyly, and went to the kitchen.

"Look," Elisabeth whispered. " The truth is : I can't tell you what the plan is when Elena is around. She is the key to killing Klaus. If she knows that she has to die, she'll run, and it'll make things a lot more difficult. So tomorrow, I'll explain a fake plan to her, and then I'll say we go hunting, and when we're somewhere safe, I'll tell you the real plan okay?"

"Okay." They all said, but there was one sentence Damon wanted to, but couldn't forget.

_She has to die…She has to die…She has to die. _ The sentence repeated itself in his head, making him dizzy, and becoming louder and louder every time it was repeated, until it became so loud, it seemed as if someone was screaming inside his head.

_ELENA HAS TO DIE._


End file.
